Garment having access port

ABSTRACT

A garment which provides medical access to an access port is disclosed. The garment is an article of apparel, such as a shirt, having an access port aligned with a receiving element such as a medical access device or receiving implant within a patient. The access port is surrounded by an elastically stretchable material which has a memory and returns to its original shape after being stretched and deformed. The article of apparel may have a material such as neoprene surrounding the access port. The entire shirt may be formed of neoprene. Alternatively, a first section of the garment may be formed of neoprene while the remainder of the garment may be formed of a second material. In various embodiments, the garment may include a flap which covers the access port and is optionally held in place via hook and loop fasteners. The flap is optionally adapted to hold a dressing over the access port when in its closed position.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a garment having an access port, andmore particularly, to an article of clothing for the upper body allowingmedical access to a patient's body.

2. Background

For numerous reasons, various situations require that healthcareprofessionals gain access to a portion of skin on a patient. Forexample, the patient may have a vascular access device or other implantplaced under the skin, or require chemotherapy, infusion-type therapy,transfusion therapy, or any number of other treatments. In order for theaccess point to be exposed for healthcare professionals to prep andaccess, typically patients arriving at healthcare facilities will needto disrobe or change into a gown.

Going through this process can be disadvantageous for a number ofreasons. First, it can be time consuming, meaning the patient must spendmore time at the facility, and fewer patients can be treated in a givenamount of time. Secondly, it can be inconvenient and uncomfortable forpatients to go through this process, particularly when the condition ofthe patient is such that the energy and motions required to changeclothing or to provide access to a medical device or access point may bepainful, uncomfortable, or burdensome. Furthermore, it may bepsychologically undesirable for patients to have to go through thisprocess repeatedly.

Various garments related to treatment programs have been disclosed. Forexample, U.S. Pat. No. 7,073,204 issued to Boyles discloses a garmenthaving a compartment for medical equipment. However, a suitable accesspoint for the purposes described above is not present, and it is notadaptable to make it very suitable for medical access, nor is thegarment comfortable as regular apparel.

Other garments have been proposed, however, they relate to hospitalgowns which would not be worn as regular clothing outside of a medicalfacility. Such garments do not include an access port which can bestretched away from the access point, nor do they address the issuesdiscussed above.

Thus, there remains a need for garments which are suitable as regularclothing outside of a medical facility setting by a patient whichprovides convenient and versatile access to an access point, thusallowing the patient to remain active or mobile prior to or after theyreceive medical treatment.

SUMMARY

The present invention is a garment which provides access to the skin ofa user for medical purposes.

The garment of the present invention includes an article of apparelhaving an access port. The article of apparel, such as a shirt, can bestylish and suitable as regular apparel outside of a medical facilitysetting without the user feeling that it separates them from others. Theaccess port is generally aligned with a receiving element on a user. Forexample, the user may have a receiving implant under the skin, such as avascular access device. Medical professional may need to obtain accessto a patient for treatment of diabetes, chemotherapy, vascular diseaseor conditions, or numerous other conditions. Such a port is oftenlocated at the top right side of the chest, however, the access port canbe positioned where ever needed.

Conventionally, a patient would need to disrobe, partially disrobe, orchange into a medical gown, in order to provide the appropriate access.This can be time consuming, uncomfortable, and difficult for somepatients, and can be an impediment to medical professionals requiringaccess. The present invention addresses these issues.

In various embodiments, the present invention is an article of apparelfor the upper body having such an access port. The article of apparel,such as a shirt, includes a portion of material surrounding the accessport. The material is ideally an elastically stretchable material,requiring no seams, which can be deformed and stretched to provideaccess to a larger region of skin on the user. This enables a healthcareprovider to prep an area larger than that exposed by the opening in thegarment before stretching the material. Ideally, the material has amemory and will return to its original configuration after beingstretched or deformed.

Various materials may be suitable to use for the portion of materialsurrounding the access port. For example, a rubber, such as a syntheticrubber may be used. A neoprene material may be ideally suited for thispurpose. The entire garment may be formed of the material, such asneoprene. Alternatively, only a small surrounding area around the accessport may be the stretchable material and the rest of the garment may beformed of a second material, or multiple additional materials, such ascotton, polyester, a blend, or any other suitable material.

In certain embodiments, an portion of the garment may be formed of theneoprene or other stretchable material, such as a vertical section, ahorizontal section, or an angled section. The rest of the garment may beformed of another material, or multiple other materials. The garment mayhave any suitable configuration or style. For example, it may be a crewneck, a v-neck, sleeveless, short sleeve, long sleeve, pullover,buttoned, etc. In some situations, another garment can be worn over theshirt so that the access port is not exposed.

In other embodiments, the access port can have a top covering or a flapattached to the garment which covers the access port. The flap can beopened to expose the access port. It can be secured in place when closedvia hook and loop fasteners, or other suitable securing elements. Incertain embodiments, the flap may have slits or other elements in itadapted to hold a dressing material in place over the access port. Thus,if a dressing is needed after a treatment, the dressing can be held inplace using this flap rather having a separate bandage.

Still other objects and advantages of the present invention will becomereadily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detaileddescription, wherein it is shown and described only the preferredembodiments of the invention, simply by way of illustration of the bestmode contemplated of carrying out the invention. As will be realized,the invention is capable of other and different embodiments and itsseveral details are capable of modifications in various obviousrespects, without departing from the invention. Accordingly, thedrawings, wherein like reference numerals represent like features, anddescription are to be regarded as illustrative in nature and not asrestrictive.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a front view of an embodiment of the garment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 shows a front view of another embodiment of the garment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 3 shows a front view of another embodiment of the garment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 4 shows a front view of another embodiment of the garment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 5 shows a front view of another embodiment of the garment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 6 shows a front view of another embodiment of the garment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 7 shows a front view of another embodiment of the garment of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

While this invention is susceptible of embodiments in many differentforms, there are shown in the drawings and will herein be described indetail, preferred embodiments of the invention with the understandingthat the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification ofthe principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the broadaspect of the invention to the embodiments illustrated.

The present invention is a garment for providing medical access 10. Thegarment includes an article of apparel, such as a shirt, which coversthe upper body of the user. Through the article of apparel is an accessport 15. The access port 15 is an opening which passes through the shirtto provide access to a receiving element or a portion of a person'sskin.

The access port 15 is surrounded by a surrounding region 20 formed of aportion of material which at least substantially surrounds the accessport 15. The material is ideally formed of an elastically stretchablematerial. Thus, the material can be stretched and deformed, and void ofseams, to provide greater access to the skin under the access port 15 asit is stretched out of the way. Ideally, the material also has a memoryproperty which enables it to return to its original configurationwithout any substantial damage to the material. In various embodiments,a rubber material, such as a synthetic rubber like neoprene, or alatex-free material may be used. However, any material having theseproperties is contemplated to be within the scope of the presentinvention.

The access port 15 is intended to be aligned with an area of skin on auser which must be accessed. For example, it may be a medical implantdevice located above or under the skin, or it may merely be a portion ofskin required to be accessed for medical or other purposes. This area onthe user is referred to as the receiving element, whether it is a partof the body or a device implanted in the body.

The garment of the present invention may be any configuration suitablefor covering the upper body. For example, it may be a short sleeveshirt, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, it may be a sleeveless shirt as shownin FIGS. 3 and 4, or it may be a long sleeve shirt, pullover, orjacket-type shirt or sweatshirt as shown in FIGS. 5, 6, and 7. The shirtmay have a crew neck, a v-neck, it may be a pullover shirt, or it may bea buttoned shirt.

In the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1-4, and other embodiments, anothergarment may be worn over the shirt to conceal the access port 15, suchas a jacket, vest, shawl, or other suitable article of apparel.

As discussed above, the surrounding region 20 is ideally a stretchablematerial having a memory, such as neoprene. Various configurations arepossible and may be variously desirable. For example, the surroundingregion 20 may be a small area surrounding the access port 15, and therest of the shirt may be composed of a different suitable material. Thesurrounding region 20 may be a larger portion of the shirt. For example,FIGS. 2, 4, and 6 show a surrounding region 20 which is a verticalsection of the garment. Optionally, this section may be horizontal,angled, or any desired configuration. The remainder of the shirt is asecond material, such as cotton, polyester, a blend, fleece, or anyother suitable material.

In various other embodiments, the entire shirt may be, or may be formedof, the surrounding material 20. For example, substantially the entireshirt might be formed of neoprene. FIGS. 1 and 3 illustrate such anembodiment.

In still other embodiments, the garment 10 may include a flap 25. Theflap 25 is attached to the shirt, and is positioned to cover the accessport 15 in its closed position, and to allow the access port 15 to beexposed in its open position. Thus, the garment 10 can be worn withoutany additional outer layer as the access port 15 can be concealed. Theflap 25 is ideally held in place by securing elements 30 such as hookand loop fasteners. Thus, a healthcare professional can open the flap 25and access the port 15, and stretch it to broaden the access.

In various other embodiments, the flap 25 may be equipped with holdingelements to hold a dressing 35 in place so that it may be positionedover the access port 15 in the closed position. For example, the flap 25may include slits or other elements, such as anchoring elements 40 tohold the dressing 35 in place. Thus, if a dressing 35 is needed afteraccess, a separate bandage may not be required.

While specific embodiments have been illustrated and described, numerousmodifications come to mind without significantly departing from thespirit of the invention and the scope of protection is limited by thescope of the accompanying claims.

1. A garment providing medical access comprising: an article of apparelfor covering at least a portion of an upper body of a user, an accessport comprising an opening through said article of apparel, asurrounding region comprising a portion of material substantiallysurrounding said access port wherein said portion of material comprisesan elastically stretchable material, wherein said material has a memoryand returns to its original shape after being deformed.
 2. The garmentproviding medical access according to claim 1, wherein said access portis substantially aligned with a receiving element disposed within thebody of a user.
 3. The garment providing medical access according toclaim 2, wherein said material is rubber.
 4. The garment providingmedical access according to claim 3, wherein said rubber is neoprene. 5.The garment providing medical access according to claim 4, wherein saidarticle of apparel is a sleeveless shirt.
 6. The garment providingmedical access according to claim 4, wherein said article of apparel isa short sleeve shirt.
 7. The garment providing medical access accordingto claim 4, wherein said article of apparel is a long sleeve shirt. 8.The garment providing medical access according to claim 2, wherein saidarticle of apparel is substantially entirely formed of neoprene.
 9. Thegarment providing medical access according to claim 2, wherein saidsurrounding region comprises a first section of said article of apparel,and wherein a second section of said article of apparel comprises amaterial different than the material composing the first section of saidarticle of apparel.
 10. The garment providing medical access accordingto claim 9, wherein said first section of said article of apparelcomprises neoprene.
 11. A garment providing medical access comprising:an article of apparel for covering at least a portion of an upper bodyof a user, an access port comprising an opening through said article ofapparel, a flap attached to said article of apparel adapted to coversaid access port in a closed position, and expose said access port in anopen position.
 12. The garment providing medical access according toclaim 11, wherein said flap is held in place in the closed position viahook and loop fasteners.
 13. The garment providing medical accessaccording to claim 11, wherein said flap is adapted to hold replaceabledressing material in place over said access port in said closedposition.
 14. The garment providing medical access according to claim11, further comprising a surrounding region comprising a portion ofmaterial substantially surrounding said access port wherein said portionof material comprises an elastically stretchable material, wherein saidmaterial has a memory and returns to its original shape after beingdeformed.
 15. The garment providing medical access according to claim14, wherein said access port is substantially aligned with a receivingelement disposed within the body of a user.
 16. The garment providingmedical access according to claim 15, wherein said material is rubber.17. The garment providing medical access according to claim 16, whereinsaid rubber is neoprene.
 18. The garment providing medical accessaccording to claim 14, wherein said article of apparel is substantiallyentirely formed of neoprene.
 19. The garment providing medical accessaccording to claim 14, wherein said surrounding region comprises a firstsection of said article of apparel, and wherein a second section of saidarticle of apparel comprises a material different than the materialcomposing the first section of said article of apparel.
 20. The garmentproviding medical access according to claim 19, wherein said firstsection of said article of apparel comprises neoprene.